Imagine a grassy field. A pavilion sits in the distance with hundreds of red and white shirts scattered across a local Seat Pleasant park. Some are seated in lawn chairs catching up on old gossip. Others are debating over the top spitters in the DMV on the tops of picnic tables while young cousins and siblings kick up bark chips around the playground in a game of lava monster.
As we zoom in closer to the scene, we see individuals bustling back and forth underneath a shaded canopy, keeping those preparing the afternoon’s feast protected from the beating sun.
The water is boiled, shells have been cracked, lemons zested and pans buttered. One particularly lanky onlooker sees his favorite dish being placed on their platters to be served and scurries over to the line beginning to form near the plastic plates and utensils.
He towers over everyone, significantly. He’s the skinniest in the bunch yet has the largest appetite of all of his family members. He’s the Baddest in the game. He’s one of the League’s most lethal scorers. He’s also got an insane affinity for crab legs.
As our real-life character sits himself in our imaginary scenario, a tower of boiled crustaceans lies in front of him. Meticulously, he begins separating meat from shell with a fork. A half hour later, the 7-footer’s Dixie paper plate is empty with remnants of oil and butter soaking its surface.
Kevin Durant just ate 12 blue crabs.
While it’s a fictional scenario, it’s an entirely true statement in theory.
In a recent episode of Netflix’s My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, the Brooklyn Nets superstar joined the famed late-night host where he elaborated on his preferred dish of choice.
“Crab feasts were a real thing,” Durant tells Letterman of his love for crab fostering as a youth in the DMV before answering how many he could put down in one sitting. “96 comes in a bushel. So out of 96, I could probably go about 12.”
Granted, Durant says the last time he did that was five years ago at a family reunion, but the appreciation for the tender and buttery coastal delight is one we haven’t seen expressed since 2013, when the two-time champion and The Swoosh cooked up the KD VI Maryland Blue Crab.
The 2010’s were filled with inside stories that influenced the crazy colorways of our favorite signature athletes. Durant’s KD VI was no exception, as his sixth model saw an immense push and social roll out surrounding the storylines from his childhood and early playing career that influenced his line.
Inspired by the vibrant colors of the pinchers and shell on Maryland’s indigenous crustacean, the sneaker features a gamma blue upper with team orange accents. The upper, tongue and midsole contains white and gold textured bubbles reminiscent of the speckled shell. Fitted with a gamma blue Max Air heel unit, the mine gray tongue and laces provide a softened contrast for the homage to the four to five crab feasts Durant would attend as a kid in the DMV.
Released on November 29, 2013, it’d be another five years until we got another glimpse into the 12-time All-Star’s love for seafood, sitting down with former ESPN reporter Chris Haynes and his childhood AAU teammate Michael Beasley. Reminiscing over their days playing with each other against the nation’s best at just 11 years old and dominating at the professional level over crab legs, scallops and oysters was a welcome invitation for the two-time Finals MVP.
While the staple seafood of his childhood has been a reminder of home, it hasn’t stopped outside forces from leveraging Durant’s obsession with cracking shells.
His infamous free agency back in 2016 saw one particular city residing on the East Coast tapped into their top-tier seafood to lure Durant away.
Before announcing that he was signing with the Golden State Warriors on that July 4th day, the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder all had meetings with the then 28-year-old. Twitter heads and fan accounts ran rampant as they implored Durant to drop buckets in their teams jersey.
Knowing his childhood history with crab feasts, Beantown stood apart from the rest.
On the Wednesday before tampering rules no longer carried any merit, Boston staple Legal Seafoods fashioned an ad for Boston.com offering Durant unlimited crab legs if he signed with the C’s in the offseason.
Free crab legs from seafood-rich city like Boston had to have been a nice topper in the Celtics package, but the potential on and off the court opportunities for growth in the Bay proved too tempting. Two chips and Finals MVP’s might’ve lessened the sting of losing out on unlimited crab legs too.
While the retail on these joints varies drastically, the KD VI embodies an era of complete and total candor between athletes and their fans. Sneaker creativity provided Durant, Bron, Kobe, D. Rose and the like express themselves in a new outlet and share with the world what makes more than just hoopers. And while it still remains to be seen whether he likes them braised or steamed, all I know is when it comes to crabs and getting buckets, KD’s your guy.
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